Hat storage rack



R. J. HANSON ETAL 2,884,297

April 28, 1959 HAT STORAGE RACK Filed June 1, 1956 INVENTORS REUBEN J. HANSON &CLAY-rou F..Bunos United States Patent HAT STORAGE RACK Reuben J. Hanson and Clayton E. Buros, Viroqua, Wis. Application June 1, 1956, Serial No. 588,676 3 Claims. Cl. 312-304 This invention relates to an improved storage rack involving a cabinet and a plurality of vertically spaced open-work shelves in the cabinet, the rack being intended primarily for storing hats on individual shelves in partially telescoped relation to hats on lower shelves.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a practical and efficient rack of this kind, which can be free-standing or suspended on a wall or the like, provides easy access for placing and removing hats, and can be made in attractive, rugged, and serviceable forms at relatively low cost.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rack of this kind which is of minimum height relative to its capacity for hats.

The invention has particular adaptability for use in hat stores, check rooms, and private homes, for protectively supporting hats in a manner preventing injurious contact between hats stored therein.

Other objects will appear from the following description, and the annexed drawings, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hat storage rack formed according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view on line 22 of Figure l, a pair of vertically telescoped hats on adjacent shelves being shown in dotted lines, one of the shelves being shown in raised position in dotted lines; and

Figure 3 is a horizontal section on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the illustrated rack comprises a vertically elongated, rectangular, open-front cabinet, generally designated 10, having fixedly connected vertical side walls 12, a back wall 14, and horizontal top and bottom walls 16 and 18. A horizontal rectangular lower reinforcing frame 19, including side members 20, a front member 22, and a rear member 24, is disposed on the bottom wall 18 within the cabinet 10. Vertical rear reinforcing posts 26, 26 and front reinforcing posts 28, 28 rise from the rear and front corners of the frame 19. A horizontal upper reinforcing frame 30, formed identically to the lower frame 19, is secured on the upper ends of the posts.

In the lower end of the cabinet there are provided straight elongated support rods 31. These may be in any desired number, three being shown by way of example. The rods 31 are uniformly spaced transversely of the cabinet, each rod being formed at its opposite ends with integral depending sharp terminals 32 which are driven into the top surfaces of the front and rear members 22 and 24 of the lower reinforcing frame 19. This arrangement disposes the rods 31 in a horizontal plane above the cabinet bottom wall 18, and constitutes a fixed bottom shelf.

Above the fixed bottom hat shelf there are mounted within the cabinet 10 a plurality of identically formed, vertically spaced, swinging shelves, generally designated See 34. As shown in Figure 3, each shelf 34 includes parallel front and rear rods 36 and 38. Extending between and fixed to the front and rear rods 36 and 38 at points in wardly spaced from the ends of the rods 36 and 38 are outer side rods 42 and inner side rods 44 spaced from the outer rods 42.

has a central upstanding inverted U-shaped stop 48, which is perpendicular to the plane of the shelf, so as to extend upwardly within the crown of a hat H on the shelf, so as to prevent the hat from being moved toward the cabinet back wall 14, when the shelf is swung upwardly.

A reclining shallow V-shaped cross rod or bar 50 has its apex connected to the middle of the rear rod 38 by a short bar 51, and the forward ends of the divergent legs of the rod 50 are secured to the inner side rods 44.

The shelves 34 are normally supported in horizontal positions, as shown in full lines in Figure 2, by engagement of the ends of the front rod 36 upon rearwardly projecting brackets 52 carried by the front reinforcing posts 28. The brackets 52 may be in the form of nails driven into the rear surfaces of the posts 28.

The shelves 34 are spaced apart from each other at distances less than the height of the crowns of hats intended to be stored, as shown in Figure 2, wherein the crown of the lower of the two hats H shown extends upwardly into the crown of the upper hat, while being disposed substantially out of contact with the upper hat. In this connection, each hat support frame, as will be noted, is wholly open at its center, to permit the crown of a lower hat therebelow to extend upwardly therethrough.

Access to any hat is easily had merely by swinging the shelf immediately above the hat desired upwardly until such shelf clears the hat which is to be removed. When a shelf is swung upwardly, the stop 48 keeps the hat thereon from sliding rearwardly out of position. Placement of a hat on a shelf is accomplished with equal facility in the same manner.

It will be understood that the shelves 34 can be constructed of metal, wood, plastic, or any other suitable materials.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention limited to the specific construction illustrated and described herein, and the invention comprehends any changes in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A hat storage rack comprising a cabinet having side walls and an open front, upper and lower vertically spaced shelves within said cabinet, said shelves having central open portions for accommodating hat crowns, said shelves comprising rear cross rods pivoted at their ends on the cabinet at points adjacent to the side walls and remote from said open front, front cross rods located adjacent to the open front of the cabinet, and laterally spaced longitudinal rods extending between and fixed to the cross rods at points spaced inwardly from the ends of the cross rods, and brackets on the cabinet side walls adjacent to said open front upon which the ends of said front cross rod rest for supporting the shelves in normal horizontal 'pos'itions.

2. Ahat storage rack comprising a cabinet having side walls and an open front, upper and lower vertically spaced shelves within said cabinet, said shelves having central open portions for accommodating hat crowns, said shelves comprising rear cross rods pivoted at their ends on the cabinet at points adjacent to the side walls and remote from said open front, front cross rods located adjacent to the open front of'the cabinet, and laterally spaced longitudinal rods extending between and fixed to the cross rods at points spaced inwardly from the ends of the cross rods, and brackets on the cabinet side walls adjacent to said open front upon which the ends of said front cross rods rest for supporting the shelves in normal horizontal positions, said shelves further comprising other cross rods extending between and fixed to the longitudinal rods and located near to and rearwardly spaced from the front cross rods, and upstanding stops on central portions of said other cross rods.

3. A hat storage rack comprising a cabinet having side walls and an open front, upper and lower vertically spaced shelves within said cabinet, said shelves having central open portions for accommodating hat crowns, said shelves comprising rear cross rods pivoted at their ends on the cabinet at points adjacent to the side walls and remote from said open front, front cross rods located adjacent to the open front of the cabinet, and laterally spaced longitudinal rods extending between and fixed to the cross rods at points spaced inwardly from the ends of the cross rods, and brackets on the cabinet side walls adjacent to said open front upon which the ends of said front cross rods rest for supporting the shelves in normal horizontal positions, said shelves further comprising other cross rods extending between and fixed to the longitudinal rods and located near to and rearwardly spaced from the front cross rods, and upstanding stops on central portions of said other cross rods, said stops consisting of single V- shaped portions on said other rods.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re.13,920 Vanderveld May 18, 1915 1,176,508 Williams Mar. 21, 1916 1,225,928 Clifl May 15, 1917 1,902,313 Struble Mar. 21, 1933 2,213,677 Miller Sept. 3, 1940 2,484,996 Hatch .r. Oct. 18, 1949 

